Last fiscal year alone, the state suspended or revoked almost 2.4 million licenses. But law enforcement officials said many offenders are still behind the wheel. They account for fatal accidents, killing themselves or others. They brazenly drive even to court.

"We have so many people driving without a valid license that they're clogging up the docket," Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney Ellen Roberts said. "People drive so bad in Florida."

Roberts suspects most suspended motorists continue to drive.

A Sun Sentinel analysis of court data found 20,611 motorists were cited more than once for driving with a suspended or revoked license in Palm Beach County since 2004. A law passed last year relaxed penalties for repeat offenders some prosecutors and lawmakers thought were already too weak.

Suspensions and revocations issued in fiscal year 2007-2008 were about 30 percent higher than the previous year, according to the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Spokeswoman Ann Nucatola said that because of the wobbly economy, fewer drivers are appearing in court or paying fines, the main reason licenses are suspended or revoked.

When they do go to court, they often have no qualms about driving there.

"It disturbs me how some people approach the court with car keys in their hands when I determine their driving privilege is suspended," said Broward County Judge Terri-Ann Miller.

Drivers with suspended or revoked licenses pose a real threat; about one of every six fatal crashes nationwide involves a driver with an invalid license, according to a 2008 study by the American Automobile Association.

Mark Lindsay, of Miramar, was driving with a suspended license on Aug. 21 when he lost control of his motorcycle along U.S. 27, killing himself and a passenger, MacKenzie Chartrand, 25.

Lindsay's license had been suspended eight times, mostly for failing to pay traffic fines. He had also racked up multiple speeding tickets, and investigators estimate he was going 116 mph at the time of the crash.

Two days later, suspended driver Angelo Perez, 36, allegedly stole a Jeep from a Lake Worth apartment complex before hitting and killing Jose Arias, who was riding a bicycle west of the city. Perez, whose driving record was peppered with 16 suspensions or revocations, led officers on a high-speed chase before he was arrested and charged with DUI-manslaughter.

It was the eighth time officers caught him driving with an invalid license.

The new law, designed to free up prison beds, reduces jail time for drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked for a failure to pay fines. Most people who lose their licenses three or more times for these reasons are charged with a first-degree misdemeanor rather than a felony, cutting the maximum jail sentence from five years to one.

"There's not a lot of incentive for some people to clear up their licenses," said Broward County Assistant State Attorney Lee Cohen.

Some prosecutors want the new law reversed. Impounding or immobilizing vehicles is another possible answer.

State Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, filed a bill Monday that would allow authorities to impound or boot a vehicle, or remove the license plate, until a license becomes valid. Exceptions would be made in certain circumstances, such as when other family members rely on the vehicle.

"If you take away the cars from the bad drivers, they're not going to destroy other lives," said Porth, who unsuccessfully has tried to pass similar legislation the past three years.

A more limited bill sponsored by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, would let judges impound vehicles at the time of sentencing for five to 30 days, depending on the severity of the offense.

Right now, only vehicles driven by suspended or revoked habitual violators or DUI offenders are subject to seizure and forfeiture. In some other cases, vehicles are impounded. But suspended drivers can drive their impounded cars home from tow yards because contracted towing companies require only proof of ownership.

Bob Haligowski and Susan Kalitan have lobbied legislators for stiffer penalties since their son was killed by a suspended driver.

In January 2005, Michael Haligowski died after Evinson Duprat, then 25, ran a stop sign in Sunrise and slammed into his motorcycle.

Duprat had an invalid license with eight suspensions. He later received a 180-day suspended jail term and a year of probation, and his license was revoked for five years.

"You know that he would be alive today if the system was the way it should be," Bob Haligowski said of his son.